Staniford loses rounds 2 & 3
Opinion
Most reasonable and informed people looking at the anti-salmon farming material produced by Don Staniford over the past number of years- especially following his conviction of defaming a British Columbia salmon farming company on the west coast of Vancouver Island some years ago- would likely ask themselves what kind of crackpot would drum up such nonsense. (It was in January, 2007 when Staniford was found guilty of defamation and ordered to pay some CAD$85,000 (~56,000 Euro) in damages. However, following a different precedent-setting court case in Canada and an appeal, Staniford was aquitted on the charges originally made against him by Creative Salmon Company, who was refused an appeal to the Supreme Court of Canada.)
Credibility is nowhere to be found on Mr. Staniford’s web site(s), and the same goes for much of the material related to salmon farming put out by his one and only contemplated witness during the current defamation law suit brought against Staniford by the largely Norwegian government-owned Mainstream Canada. Dr. John Volpe from the University of Victoria on Vancouver Island advises his students against eating farmed salmon, and according to the Radical Tides, he was to appear in court in support of Staniford; However, on Jan. 31, the judge ruled that Volpe was inadmissible to testify and was dismissed as an expert witness. Strike two against Staniford.
Strike three was felt by Staniford when he was told that he would be kicked out of Canada as soon as this law suit was over- perhaps one of the quickest deportation events in recent Canadian memory. From Radical Tides; The Canadian Boarder Service Agency and security personnel showed up on the first day of the trial to inform Staniford that the Liverpool native would be deported once his court case was finished.
More information from Deadline News shows that Staniford might be teaming up with another extreme environmental campaigner in Norway, working in Scotland and other places where he can continue to try to make life miserable for hard-working, honest salmon farmers;
An anti-fish farming demonstrator who is being deported from Canada is returning to Scotland to continue his campaign against the industry. Don Staniford is fighting a high-profile court battle in the Canadian province of British Columbia, after a fisheries company accused him of making defamatory comments. But the Canadian government will deport the Briton in any case, as he has been living in the country illegally since 2010. He says he will ‘bring energy’ back into the campaign against fish farming, which he says damages the environment and spreads disease.
Mr. Staniford, who is originally from Birkenhead, near Liverpool, in England, has previously worked with Friends of the Earth in Edinburgh and the Pure Salmon campaign. He is due to arrive in Scotland in March. He said: “I’m now going to work for the Green Warriors of Norway where I will be global salmon farming coordinator. “I will spend time in Scotland, where I will cut my teeth. I plan to bring energy back into the campaign. “I’ll be looking at the salmon farms in Orkney and on the west coast, where there has been growing dissent in terms of escapes, sea lice and infectious diseases. “There will be a lot of work and I’ll be getting my hands dirty.”
Fisheries firm Mainstream Canada, a subsidiary of Norwegian-owned Cermaq, is seeking around £80,000 (~€96,500) in damages from Mr. Staniford. They are also seeking a ‘permanent injunction’ to stop him ‘writing, printing or broadcasting defamatory words against Mainstream.’ Cermaq has interests in Scottish waters, as well as other locations around the world. The judgment in the case may not come for six months, but Mr. Staniford will be in the UK by that point. A Canadian Border Agency spokesman declined to comment on the case but said foreign nationals must show they meet requirements to enter and remain in Canada.
